Basit Ali was compared with Javed Miandad when he first burst onto the international scene at the age of 22. He was a natural timer of the ball through the covers and point, a dashing, daring hooker and puller against the quicks, and possessed a seemingly nerveless temperament, But some of the gloss was taken off a fine maiden series in the Caribbean by allegations of involvement in match-fixing, and Basit's career quickly nosedived after he smashed the West Indies all over Sharjah and then hit his only Test century, in New Zealand, both in 1993-94. His risk-taking tendencies made him a regular in the Pakistan one-day side for three years. Subscribed to the Inzamam-ul-Haq school of dieting.
Lawrence Booth